Feeding appliance



Aug. 26, 1952 B. HILL 2,608,072

FEEDING APPLIANCE Filed July 11, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F IG.

' INVENTOR. BA/VGROFT HILL BY/WW AT'TY Aug. 26, 1952 B. HILL FEEDING APPLIANCE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 -FIG.

Filed July 11, 1949 INVENTOR. BANGROF T HILL FIG. /2 i5 ATTY Aug. 26, 1952 B. HILL FEEDING APPLIANCE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 11, 1949 BA NOROF T HILL ATTY 'erably one footihe can use. designed to be operated either byone hand-or 'one hand and one foot and can be easily convertedto either form, depending upon. therequirements of the individual.

Patented Aug. 26, 1952 iEEEDING APPLIANCE :inancro-rtiniu; Bauimo iMd. iApplica'tioniuly 11, 1949, SerialNo; 103,983 (c1; es-=12) .sgclaims.

: The. present: invention: "rielates; a device --for aiding certain handicappedpersons who have had :zthemisfortune of losing a'limb, ortlosing the use of-one ormore'limb members. I

lnirmany cases, a. party. 'loses' the :use of one side-f the body including one arm and, one, leg, but retains; at least some .use of the: other arm and .leg'or thepartymay lose .the use of a hand .orarm only and .it is .for this generalgroup that the rpresent: invention ,:has been particularly :developed.

r In order to operatethe device it is necessary that .the patient have at least one handand pref- The machine; is

The principal object of the invention is to provide a device of this character Whi'ChiS helpful to certain handicapped individuals in handling materials and objects, and at the sa-me time fur- -=nish therapeutic aid through-the useful use of their limbs.

A further object of the invention is to' provide a' device of this nature that may have many modifications which can be adapted to a great number of uses and applications to fit the particular case to be treated.

Another object of the inventionis-to-provide a device that is economical to manufacture; practical" and simple in its operation in order that thosein need of such a device may bebotlr able toacqui're andoperate. I

While several objects of the invention have. been-specifically pointedpout, other objects, uses and advantages willbe apparent as thenature of 'the invention is more fullydisclosed; which conssists in the novel construction,- combinationand arrangement of parts shown in 'theaccompanying drawings and described in the following detailed description. and'in which:

Figure lis a top planuview'of the apparatus. Figure-2 is a verticaluside viewof the :same.

I Figure 3 is a sectional vviewtaken along the line,v

3--3 of Figure 2. r

1 Figure 4 isa'top plan view of a modified form of theapparatus'.

' Figure 5 is a vertical side: view of the same.

Figure 6 is a-view showing a further modified I form of the device.

*Figure '7 is a sectional view taken along the line 'l-'-"l of Figure 6.

..-F.igure.-9 is a sectional view takenalong'i-the Figure 10 is a view-in elevation of a bracketfor -mounting the balancingpan or platformparallel to a predetermined plane.

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along I lll of Figure 10.

.Figure 12 isatop-plan view of an attachment TfOI" the device-and; Figure 13 is a vertical side view of the same.

Figure 14 is a vertical endviewof one of' the said aid elements.

=Figure 15 is a vertical side .view of the same.

Figure, 16-is a view; in elevation of another-type -of; aid element inv the 'form of a pair. of pincers,

or pliers.

.In referring to the apparatus like: reference characters will be used throughout'the several views to indicate-like and similar parts-=when practical. e I

The apparatus consists primarily; of a base :member 23; amovable arm 22.- and; meansfor .pivotably supporting the; armnupon the tbase. The arm supporting means consists of a standard 24 extending upwardly from the upper surface of --the.=base, which is provided with aihinge 26;. at theupperend-thereof to'whichthe arm is pivotably attached. The hinge 26 may either be a 1 separate member, .or made as. a part of:the :stand- 2- ardiz l; and the arm :22. @The arm is-adapted-to swing through a-predetermined' area. as indicated .in Figure, 2. :Located' upon :the: .base sand-:ins a vertical plane parallel with the plane formed by ;,the path of the pivoted .arm*2'2,.is a second standard Z'lythe purpose of which is to. caflyamechanism for moving the outer end of the arminso'ne direction; which'iin this; particular; case is. upwardly. to a =-predetermined' positionras indicated byxthe dotted lines. 22' in'Figure. 2. J The arm-.22

is moved: in. the. opposite: direction or downwardly wby a-c0rd-.=-28:which is: attached tojthe; arm, the :lengthofwhich 'isadjustable around the. bracket i'29. =.--practical tot-he outer-movable end' of 1318751511112 The cord 28 isplaced outwardly as-Jnear: as

which will give as much mechanical. advantage as possible in operating thetdevice; ;The .cordis shown as being definitelypositioned by passing it through: a; hole vSlT-within the arm-J and securing the same. about the bracket 29.

Thez' mechanism for moving the ar'm 22 --upwardly consists of a secondary arm 32 which is hinged on ithe :upper end' of the support; 21--and .having its-axisparallel with the axis of 'the hinge 26. The arm 32 extends beyondthe hinge 3 land Figure 8 is a 'view'showing still another'slightly modified form ofthedevice. tile -Shown; as portion 32'."- Securedto theouter end of the arm portion 32 is a small roller 34 adapted to contact the under side of the arm 22. The opposite end of the arm 32' is provided with a platform or base 36. The platform is designed to receive a number of weights 38 for moving the arm 22 upwardly. It is preferable to carry the platform 36 in a horizontal position, therefore the platform is hinged adjacent its bottom at the outer end .of the arm 32' by the hinge 46. A bar or arm 42 is pivotably connected with the platform 36 by the bracket 44, and to a bracket 46 carried by the standard 21. The bar 42 is of substantially the same length as the arm portion 32'. By vertically placing the bar 42 above the bar 32' and having the distance between their pivots to platform 36 equal to the distance of the pivotal 7 connection of the arm 42 with the bracket 46 above the pivotal connection of bar 32' with the bracket 46 will operate to maintain the platform in a horizontal plane as it moves up and down with the bar or arm member 32. The movement of the secondary arm 32 and 32' may be regulated by the arcuate arms 48 and 49 Which pass through th standard 21 as shown in Figure 3 by inserting pin 56 in one or another of the holes carried by the arms 48 and 49. As the arm 32 is always being urged downwardly by the weights 38 the pin 56 will determine the movement of the arm portion 32 which in turn will regulate the height of the arm 22.

The platform 36 is removably and pivotably secured to the outer end of the arm portion 32' by the threaded rod 52 and the wing nut 53. The bracket 46 is also removable and may be moved to the opposite end of the hinge 3|. By this arrangement the platform may be moved to either side of the arm 22 to accommodate right and left hand individuals.

The outer end of the arm 22 is formed to receive a number of aid elements, one of such elements is shown in Figures 1 and 2 for holding the pages of a book open for reading, or copying extracts therefrom. This member is connected with the arm 22 by the member 56' which is in turn connected with the end engaging means 58. The member 58 is of such form as to engage the end of the arm 22 and be secured thereto by a pin 66.

Another form of aid element is shown in Figures 4 and 5 and is in the form of a fork 61 for holding particles of food, such as meats, for cutting the same; for example, if the individuals can hold the particle of food in a fixed place they are able to use one hand in cutting and by elevating the arm 22 the particle may be removed from the fork 61.

It is not necessary, or desirable to have the device always permanently attached to the table, "or other supporting member 62. Therefore, for

securing purposes a hingeable clamp member 64 is preferred, however, any other practical and convenient means may be used. This particular clamp is adapted to be carried by the support 62 and may be slidably secured within a flanged groove as shown in Figures 2 and 3 at 66, or secured by screws as shown at 68. Either form is provided with a hinge 69 and a hand screw 16 for contacting the upper surface of the base member 26. It can be seen that when the clamp is not in use the upper arm may be swung out of the way from over the top of the table 62.

Figures 1 and 2 show a hand and foot operated type, while in Figures 4 and 5 only a hand-operated type is shown.

, For operating the hand and foot type the cord .4 28 extends below the support 62 to either a pedal or a loop formed in the cord (not shown) which is engaged by the foot of the individual. The position of the arm 22 is normally that as shown at 22' being held in that position by the weights 38 carried by the platform 36. When a downward pull is exerted on the cord 28 by the foot the arm 22 moves downwardly, therefore, the aid element attached to the outer-end of the arm will 'also move downwardly to cause the aid element to perform its particular function.

Referring now in particular to Figures 4 and 5, which is the hand operated type, the device is broadly the same as just described for the form shown in Figures 1 and 2 except for the operating means. For operating this type there is provided a hand lever 86 mounted upon the base 26. The lever is pivoted at a convenient point II and is adapted to rock upon the pivot in order to get a slight up and down motion for the lever. The lever is provided with a pin 82 for engaging a plurality of stationary apertures 63 located in, or carried by, the base. The inner end of the lever is provided with means, such as a hole 84, for securing one end of the cord 28 to the lever. The cord is secured to the arm 22 as previously described and extends around a pulley 86 and through an appropriate opening 33 within the lower end of the support 21 to the inner end of the lever. By moving the lever about the pivot 8| the arm 22 is drawn downwardly against that force caused by the weights carried by the platform 36. To move the lever, the outer end 86' is slightly raised to disengage the pin 82 from one of the apertures 83 and moved to the desired point where it may be lowered in order that the pin 82 may again engage an appropriate aperture and hold the arm 22 in the desired position.

The base may carry a recess as shown at 96 in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and at SI in Figures 4 and 5. for receiving a gripping element which is specifically shown in Figures 12 and 13. This element consists of a plurality of rectangular blocks 92, the center pair having an elliptical opening 63 which is used to receive most any shaped object such as a bottle of ink or the like. These blocks are assembled to slide within an open top box member 94. One end of the box is provided with a thumb screw which is adapted to contact the near block and press them together. The blocks are of different thicknesses which will enable the user to adjust the size of the gripping opening 93 for various sizes of objects.

While a specific type of mechanism has been shown and described for automatically furnishing a constant force for urging the bar in one direction, which is normally upward, other suitable mechanisms may be used as shown in Figures 6 to 9.

Referring to Figures 6 and '7, the arm 22 is moved by appropriate weights 96. These weights are supported by a cord 91 which has one end connected with the arm 22 at 98 and extending up and over a pulley 99 to a weight carrying member I66. The pulley is supported upon a standard I62 which is positioned adjacent the arm 22. The arm is provided with a plurality of apertures I64, into which a pin I66 may be inserted to limit the movement of the arm through a predetermined prescribed arc. The weights 96 are of such a nature that they can be added or removed as desired. The pulley 69 is arranged at an angle to the plane of the moving arm 22 in order to pick up the cord 9'1 from a point over the arm and allow the weights 96 to be supported to one side of the arm. The hand and foot operating means for this modification are substantially the same as previously described.

In Figures 8 and 9 there is shown a still further modification of the constant urging means in the form of a coiled spring I08, which is carried within a slotted tube, or sleeve I I0. The lower end of the tube is fixably secured to the base, the upper end being provided with a plurality of apertures H2, through which a pin H4 is inserted at different levels for regulating the height of the arm 22 in substantially the same manner as described for Figures 6 and 7.

In Figures 14, and 16 there are shown several other types of aid elements. In Figures 14 and 15 is another type of clamping element for holding objects in a horizontal position. This element consists of a base IIS having blocks H8 and I20 which are provided with a V or U-shaped upper surface I22 and separated by a center piece I24. To cooperate with this bottom portion is an upper portion which consists of similarly shaped, single inverted block I26, a shaft I28 and a fixture I30 which is adapted to fit over the outer end of the arm 22.

In Figure 16 there is shown still another form of aid element. In this modification there is shown a pair of pliers I32. One of the handles is connected by a detachable member I30 to a member I33 which is adapted to be attached to the end of the arm 22. The other handle of the pliers is detachably attached to a base plate I40 and is held by a suitable pin I42. EBy attaching the member I38 to the outer end of the arm 22 and resting the base I40 upon a table or support 20 the pliers may be caused to open and close by operating the arm 22. p

The device has been shown in various ways all oi which involve the same general principle and season while the device has been specifically illustrated it is not intended that this should be a limitation as various changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the invention is best defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A feeding appliance comprising a base adapted to rest upon a horizontal support, an arm having one end hingedly connected with the base, means located between the hinged end of the arm and the outer end thereof for normally urging the outer end of the arm upwardly and away from the horizontal plane of the support and means for regulating the force of the said urging means,

2. A feeding appliance consisting of an arm hinged at one end thereof and means for holding said hinged end in a fixed location, the opposite outer end of the arm adapted to swing about a predetermined are above a horizontal plane, means for constantly urging the opposite end of the arm upwardly through said are consisting of a pivoted lever one end of which is adapted to contact the under side of the arm and the opposite end beyind the pivot adapted. to receive a force for rotating the lever about thepivot for moving the said arm, a manually operated means for moving the arm in the opposite direction through said are, a plurality of detachable aid elements adapted to be received upon the outer end of the arm.

3. A feeding appliance comprising a base, an arm having one end hingedly carried by the base, means for resiliently supporting the opposite end of the arm within a pre-determined are, manually operable means for rotating the arm about its hinged end against the resilient support, consisting of a hand lever and means for connecting the movable end of the arm with the lever, a plurality of stops associated with the said lever for limiting the movement of the lever and the arm through the arc, the outer end of the arm being adapted to receive an aid element.

BAN CROFT HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 25,083 Bailey Aug. 16, 1859 962,913 Palmer June 28, 1910 1,092,971 Burlog Apr. 14, 1914 1,097,669 Philip May 26, 1914 1,160,607 Housel Nov. 16, 1915 1,343,606 Young June 15, 1920 1,353,379 Caulfield Sept. 21, 1920 1,409,731 Jeunesse Mar. 14, 1922 1,782,743 Polzer Nov. 25, 1930 2,322,499 Andrews June 22, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 296,750 Germany Mar. 2, 1917 

